COZY UP WITH TEA AND GINGERBREAD IN FERNDALE.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

Tea was being served when I arrived at the Gingerbread Mansion Inn.

It was the perfect antidote to a blustery winter afternoon in Ferndale, when rain dripped from the skies and wind slapped the stark, stripped tree branches together.

I'd come from Eureka just 20 miles north and poked about this fabled Northern California Victorian village until the heavens opened and the shops and attractions closed. It was time, I thought, to check into my abode for the night.

The Gingerbread Mansion was just a block off Main Street, an imposing Victorian with Queen Anne and Eastlake influences and a paint job that evoked thoughts of mustard and cream of tomato soup. Of all the Victorians in this small town, this is the queen, the most-photographed of the structures.

I could see why. With its striking colors, lavish ornamentation (which inspired its Gingerbread Mansion moniker) and English-style gardens, not to mention its picture-perfect location on a corner of Berding Street, it would be as attractive to photographers as a picnic is to ants.

On this dreary day, it was even more pleasing, since lights were already twinkling from within.

Brenda, who was arranging trays full of tantalizing teatime delicacies on a parlor table when I arrived, greeted me warmly.

``I'll show you around the house and take you to your room; then, when you're settled, you can come down and have tea,'' she said cheerfully.

There's just something about a welcome like that that puts one in a good mood.

She guided me through the downstairs with its several parlors and dining room, all well-appointed with antiques and rich carpets, drapes and wallpaper. Bookcases were stuffed with tempting reads, a puzzle was ready to piece together on a table in front of a bay window, a chess game awaited thoughtful players.

My room, the smallest of the 10 in the house, was on the second floor at the rear. An enchanting blue-toned world of lavish floral wallpaper that covered ceiling and walls, it boasted handsome walnut antiques, a roomy bathroom with golden accents and windows that looked out onto a view of a church steeple and smaller Victorians.

I could, I decided, be happy here.

Downstairs at tea, I was reminded of one of the pleasures of staying in a bed-and-breakfast inn: meeting people. Over Medjool dates dipped in chocolate, an assortment of dainty cookies and hearty tea breads, three fellow guests and I shared stories of Redding, the Northern California city where they lived and where I had once resided.

``That's what happens when you travel,'' Lori Balick said. ``You just never know who you're going to meet.''

It was such a pleasurable meeting that the four of us dined together at a cafe in town. And when we returned to our rooms, it was to turned-down beds and chocolates on the bedside tables.

Over breakfast next morning (a baked egg dish, hot muffins, fresh fruit and juice), we learned a little bit about the house from owner Ken Torbert. Built as a private residence in 1899, it had served as a hospital (closed for lack of patients), medical office, rest home and even an American Legion Hall. In the 1950s, it was broken up into apartments.

Torbert, a San Francisco financial analyst with no previous experience in interior design or renovation, bought the dilapidated place in 1981, tore down walls and installed new moldings, carpets and wallpaper. He scoured antique stores for the right furniture, designed rooms where couples could bathe side by side or toe to toe in companion claw-footed tubs (sometimes before a fireplace) and even established an elegant suite of rooms that takes up the entire third floor. A staff of nearly a dozen, including a chef, maintains the house, which opened as a b&b in 1983.

``I'm glad we found this place,'' said Betty Balick of Redding. So glad, in fact, that when I left, she was asking about gift certificates for a stay here for her son and daughter-in-law.

On Location

Address: Gingerbread Mansion, 400 Berding St., Ferndale, Calif. 95536.

Phone: [phone].

Price range: $140-$350, double. Single, midweek and winter rates available.

Number of rooms: 10, all with private bath.

House rules: No smoking, no pets.

Money matters (credit cards, cancellation policy): Visa, MasterCard, American Express, personal checks. Reservation charge not refunded if cancellation is less than seven days in advance of reservation, unless room is rerented.

Check in/check out: 3 to 6 p.m. / 11 a.m.

Telephones, television: Telephone in parlor. Two rooms with television.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Color) Rooms in Ferndale's Gingerbread Mansion Inn are filled with comforts.

(2) On a blustery afternoon, Ferndale's Gingerbread Mansion Inn is a warm, welcoming spot for travelers.

Susanne Hopkins/Daily News

Box: On Location (See Text)